Reading in the Tardis
by TheMysteriousPineapple
Summary: Rose and the Ninth Doctor have some down time in the Tardis after a long day. Fluff ensues.


"Are you my mummy?"

The little gas-masked creature tilted his head curiously at Rose. _Why are you still here?_ She wanted to say, but it felt as if someone had glued her mouth shut as she stood on top of her bed, paralyzed. _The Doctor fixed you. You're Jamie now._ The Child began to step slowly towards her, reaching out its scarred hand to grab her. One swift movement of the Child's hand, and she would no longer be Rose. Rose tried to move away, but she was cornered as she pressed her hands against the smooth walls of her room in the T.A.R.D.I.S. Her heart was in her throat. Had the Child actually found a way to escape to the Tardis? _DOCTOR!_ She tried to scream, but only a small, wheezing sound escaped her. _DOCTOR!_ The Child was inches from her now. Rose felt a buzzing sensation in her head, and her mind went blank. The only thought she could grasp was gut- wrenching fear, as a shiver crawled down her spine. Rose shut her eyes, and waited for the end.

"Rose."

Rose jerked back and forth, and let out a small gasp. She sat up, clutching the soft, downy sheets on her bed. _Was that a dream? Oh God, that was a dream!_ Her drowsiness escaping her, her thoughts became clear as everything came into focus. The first thing she saw was the Doctor, staring at her, eyebrows drawn together in concern with a crease on his forehead, his eyes downcast. His eyes were sharper, emitting a look of hurt and concern and fear, and perhaps something Rose had seen too often when he looked at her these days with those twinkling, icy blue eyes: Compassion. "Rose, are you alright?" He repeated in a softer, almost comforting tone.

"Yeah, I just- had a nightmare, that's all."

"Must've been bad, 'cause I could hear you screaming all the way from my room. _Doctor._ It's alright, but what were you dreaming about?"

Rose's face tingled with the slightest amount of pink, which was thankfully not noticeable in the dim lighting of her room. She took a deep breath. "I dreamed about the Child, he was in my room and about to get me."

 _Typical human dream,_ the Doctor thought, but forced himself to keep his thoughts to himself. Rose was hurting, and that's all that mattered. Besides, he had had a dream similar to that, too, except in that dream, Rose had been there too, and the Doctor threw himself in front of her so he would be "killed" first. It was a horrible experience, but as he was about to lose control, he looked at Rose. "Rose, I- ." He had woken up with the words still on his lips. Then he had heard Rose scream.

"We all have nightmares, Rose. Not unusual." He shrugged his shoulders.

Rose sat up a little more. "I don't think I'm going to be able to go back to sleep for a while, though."

"Me neither," the Doctor said before he could stop himself.

"You mean _you_ had a nightmare, too?" The tiniest bit of amusement spread through Rose like wildfire.

"I told you, Rose, everyone gets nightmares." The Doctor crossed his arms and shifted uncomfortably. However, a small smile threatened to appear on his face.

Rose paused. "Do you happen to have any books?"

"Yeah, I got tons! I thought you'd never ask." The Doctor beamed proudly. "I'll go get a few."

The Doctor came back with more than "a few" in Rose's definition, with a variety of books with numerous sizes piled up high in great big stacks. He set the books down and turned her bedroom lamp on. "That should be enough," he said as he flashed his goofy grin. "Do you mind scooting over a bit?" The Doctor pulled out a book for himself and sat beside Rose.

Rose had never really been into reading, but decided it was better late than never to get started. _Beauty and the Beast_ sounded interesting, so she decided she would try that. As she sunk in and began to read, the Doctor looked cautiously at her. Fascinating how even with hair untamed, with no makeup on after tossing and turning for a few hours, Rose still looked flawless, her deep brown eyes focused and alert. Nervous and uncertain, he slowly put his arm around her, hand twitching at the careful gesture and being certain not to disturb her. Perhaps she wouldn't even notice.

But Rose did notice. She was a bit dumbfounded at the move, which the Doctor had only done a few times and was a bit out of character for his colder personality. Rose barely flicked her eyes up for half a second to look at his face. It looked as if he was pretending to be deep in concentration at a certain page in the book he was reading, but Rose could easily see the heat rising slowly to his face. She suddenly felt a pang of admiration, no, _affection_ for this change of behavior. It was the little things, like how he started hugging her more often, or the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking. Smiling immensely, Rose returned the favor by moving closer to the Doctor, resting her head against him as she continued to read.

The Doctor was shocked to look down, but quickly began to recover as a smile that failed to falter for a long time began to appear, and his hearts pounded with a newfound nervousness and happiness all at the same time.

An hour later, Rose snapped her book shut. "That was interesting."

The Doctor looked down at her questionably, and a second later a look of relief crossed his face. _Oh, she's talking about the book._

"What was it about?" He said in a slightly choked voice. _Now you've done it, Doctor._ He cringed in his head.

"It was just, fascinatin', I guess, to see Belle slowly turn the Beast from, well, a _beast,_ into someone else. I mean, at first the Beast felt so many awful things. He was alone, with guilt and hate and sadness, and thought he would never let anyone into his heart after what he'd done. But then Belle came in an' changed him. The Beast started becoming kinder, and started to change, until he loved Belle and wasn't a beast at all."

Rose looked up at the Doctor and smiled. "That sounds nice, Rose," the Doctor smiled back. He uncrossed his legs and jumped up. "Okie-doke. Feeling better now, Rose?" He tried to wipe away the softness previously shown.

"Yeah." Rose said quietly, getting up too.

"You sure nothing's wrong?" The Doctor looked back at Rose and moved closer to her.

Then Rose decided to do something unbelievably daring.

Leaning her face in and putting her arms around him, she kissed him. She didn't exactly know why; it just seemed like the right moment.

The Doctor didn't know what to do at first. _What's happening?_ Was all he could think of as Rose pressed her lips against his. But then again, this might never happen again. After all, he had wanted to do that for a while now. The Doctor closed his wide eyes and embraced it, leaning forward and putting her face in his hands. It was a new sensation, for both of them, as neither Rose or the Doctor was really the kissing type. Not like this, at least. But in this savored moment in time, all the lights and colors around them faded away as their kiss grew deeper, softer, and all of their feelings for each other were spilled out in the most beautiful, blissful, unspoken way.

When the two finally parted, the trance was broken, and Rose got back under her sheets with blood rushing to her face, and she couldn't help to suppress a smile. The Doctor staggered for a moment, but suddenly felt like he had been given a warm blanket on a cold winter's day. He sighed.

"G'night, Rose."

"Night, Doctor."


End file.
